Castle in the Clouds

This year's solitary Halloween decoration. It was a miserable September and it's been an even worse October, which pretty much made it impossible for me to feel any desire when it came time to decorate my house for Halloween.  So much so, that we didn't even carve pumpkins this year.  I posted as much on Facebook this morning.  A couple of hours later, Ken showed up with this adorable flower arrangement at my office door.  I love it.  I'm looking forward to taking it home and putting it in the center of my kitchen table, a little belated Halloween spirit. Hopefully, I'll have pictures of a terrifying 10-year-old zombie and a brave gladiator to post either later tonight or early tomorrow.

Tragedy has a way of forcing you to look at your life with a critical eye.  It makes you evaluate between what you think is important from what is truly important.  In the wake of Sean's death, I have found myself doing that very thing.  Although this list is by no means comprehensive, it is a start.  These are the things I am going to make every effort to do with regularity and enthusiasm.  Spend more quality time with Ken and the boys.   As a family we often share the same physical space, but we're continually distracted by our individual interests.  Ken is never without his phone or laptop, the boys are rarely without their computers or PSPs, and I always have a book or computer in my hands.  While I can't see any of us giving up these things, I don't think it's unreasonable for us to designate one night a week where we spend time doing a family activity like playing a board game or something. Record the memories we make.  There a...

On Thursday, October 20, 2011, my family lost someone very dear in a tragic hunting accident.  The circumstances surrounding his death seem unimportant in the grand scope of things.  All that really seems to matter to us, his family, is that he's gone forever.  It hurts to look into a future without him.  It hurts to think of all the things he's going to miss, all the things his family - his wife and two beautiful, wonderful children - are going to do without him by their sides.   What we have right now, what we cling to in our heartache, are the memories.  I think it's important to share those memories in order to keep him alive in our hearts and minds.  During the memorial service I wanted to stand up at the podium and tell everyone how Sean touched my life, as well as the lives of my husband and children.  I wasn't strong enough that day to say the things I wanted to say.  So, while I sit here with tears streaming down my face and ...

I've been a bit blocked lately when it comes to the blog.  It's not that I'm sitting on my thumbs with nothing going on.  I'm plenty busy.  Between work, school, the house, the kids, and the constant go-go-go that is our life, it seems as if I should have a lot to talk about. The problem is it all seems so mundane. Well, except for this.  This seems pretty monumental... I got a new car!  The hubby came home last Friday night and handed me the keys.  I knew we were planning on getting a new vehicle - the Malibu's reliability was becoming a concern, especially with winter approaching - but I thought we were going to wait another month or so before driving one of these lovelies home.  Hubby decided to surprise me with an early anniversary gift instead. I love it!  Love it, love it, love it.  It has room for the children to stretch out and continue growing.  It has easy and accessible trunk space and lots of it.  It has a back-...